Energy

Reminders to turn off lights
Printed reminders in the form of light switch plate covers or signs are a great way to encourage office members to turn off lights when not in use. The links below will allow you to download "Bark! Bark! Go Dark! plate covers or signs that can be printed out and installed on or near light switches.

It may be useful to post on the machine that the lights are turned out to save 1,300 kWh each year. Try posting this printable image.

ENERGY STAR/EPEAT rated products
ENERGY Star and EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) products are designed to save energy, and meet standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. For more information about these products visit the following websites:

Green Meetings

Green Meetings in this program refer to smaller departmental meetings, not large conferences or catered events. UW Conference Management offers ideas for Green Conferences.

Online meeting agendas, information, and notes
The easiest way to move to paperless meetings is to store all meeting agendas, informational documents, and notes in an online website or shared spaces, such as Microsoft OneDrive, Google Team Drive, SharePoint, Wiki etc. Before meetings, a link to the relevant folder or documents can be sent out and after the meeting, participants will be able to go back to the folder to add or view notes.

Paper Conservation

Migration plan for non-duplex printers/copiers
Many printers and copiers on campus are operated under contract, and cannot be immediately replaced because they do not have duplex printing capability. A migration plan identifies these printers and their contract expiration dates, and commits to replacing these machines with duplex capable machines when possible. Managed Print Services is UW's organizational copier/printer management and has a strong commitment to environmental sustainability. Contact them for an assessment of your departmental needs.

Printing tracking
Please check with UW-IT about your office's printing options. Depending on your printer/contract, a tracking website may be readily available, a tracking program can be set up, or you may track your printing information through your billing. If your printer does not have this capability, you may have to manually count reams used each month to track paper use.

Shared/Network printing
A network printer is connected to the Internet and allows multiple computers to print to it. Having a network printer in the office will reduce the need for desktop printers, thus saving energy, maintenance costs and resources. IT Connect can help you set up a network printer in your office.

Turning stationery into notepads
Creative Communications can create notepads out of your outdated stationery for a fee. Your old stationery should be brought or sent (via campus mail, attention: note pads) to the Creative Communications building with instructions, contact information, and a budget number. Some Copy Centers on campus may also work with you to create notepads. You can choose the size and thickness of your notepads. Contact Creative Communications with questions.

Please be cautious with the paper that is turned into notepads and be sure that it does not contain sensitive information.

Purchasing

Supply exchange area
Consider setting up an area for common shared office supplies, such as a supply closet, mail room, or printer area. You may even want to set up a shared supply station for your entire building, and share excess supplies to minimize waste in purchasing and encourage the other two R's - reduce and reuse!

Toner cartridge recycling
UW Recycling collects a variety of items as part of its printer/copier cartridges and components stream. UW's recycling vendor refills cartridges for resale, returns them to the original manufacturer for refilling or, when refilling is not possible, recycles the materials. UW Recycling has a list of toner cartridge drop-off locations and advice on how to recycle.

UW Surplus
All items purchased with University funds that are no longer needed by a department, whether they are in working or non-working condition, must be transferred to UW Surplus for proper disposal. UW Surplus will resell items that are working, and properly recycle or dispose of non-working items. By checking UW Surplus first for "new" furniture or other items, your office could save money and reuse.

Buy in bulk to minimize packaging
Buying in bulk by consolidating orders reduces the amount of packing materials used for shipping overall, the packaging for individual units of the products you buy, reduces delivery truck emissions by reducing delivery frequency, and saves time for the person in your office placing orders. Consider setting up a request form for office supplies and designating a day of the week for purchasing, waiting until there is significant enough need for supplies before placing orders. Setting up a coffee club or similar groups that orders larger amounts of materials to share is another great way to make buying in bulk easier.

More purchasing resources

The eProcurement website offers general information about Green Purchasing at UW.

Recycling/Composting/Waste Reduction

UW Recycling has many other posters, including signs for special events and item-specific recycling (cardboard, e.media, wood waste) on their website.

Bagit Stations
In most shared office/lab spaces on campus, recyclable office paper is collected in Bagits, which are reusable polypropylene bags that have handles and are held open on stands, which hold either one or two bag-its. Bagits are to be used in spaces such as labs, copy rooms, mail rooms, and shared offices; Bagits are not permitted in individual offices. Learn more or request a Bag-it station from UW Recycling.

MiniMax
UW Recycling offers a mini (3-quart) desk-side waste bin that is self service, just like your personal recycling bin. This program, known as MiniMax, is meant to build awareness around recycling, promote personal responsibility for waste generation, and allow custodians to direct their time to essential cleaning tasks. The mini bins are also unlined, which will significantly reduce the number of plastic liner bags going to the landfill.

Collection bins
If your public areas, conference rooms, or kitchen/break rooms do not have waste, mixed paper, and mixed containers collection bins, contact UW Recycling at recycle@uw.edu. They will perform a site assessment and determine the appropriate bins for the area.

E.Media recycling
Post the location of your nearest e.Media recycling bin near your public area bins or recycling center.

Plastic film recycling
UW Recycling recycles plastic film, which includes clean plastic bags, bubble wrap, air pillows (deflated), and shrink wrap. This is a self-serve recycling program and staff are responsible for putting their plastic film into the grey plastic film toter at or near the building’s loading dock or service entrance. Request a plastic film container.

Transportation

Telecommuting
UW Human Resources has a policyfor telecommuting. UW-IT offers resources for connecting to the UW phone system from home or other off-campus locations.

Conference calls
Utilizing conference calls is a way to reduce travelling emissions, costs, and time. IT Connect conferencing services can help with audio/videoconferencing and other conferencing needs.

U-PASS
The U-PASS provides faculty, staff and students with a variety of low-cost transportation options—from buses, commuter train service and light rail, to vanpooling and discounted impromptu carpooling. With a U-PASS, it’s easy to save money and tread softly through the environment by choosing alternatives to driving alone. Or consider “mixing up your commute”—using an alternative when possible, driving when necessary. As a bonus, many local businesses offer discounts to U-PASS holders!

UCAR
The UCAR is a conveniently located and economically priced Fleet Services rental vehicle available for hourly rentals. The UCAR program is dedicated to supporting the short term transportation needs of the UW community for education, research, outreach and business. Any UW member with a valid UW NetID and driver's license is able to reserve and access a UCAR 24/7.

Alternative commute options
Alternative commute options include biking, taking mass transit, carpooling, walking or any combinations of these. Take a quick survey at your staff meeting, send out a poll, or simply go around and ask your colleagues about their commuting habits. The higher the percentage of your office that uses alternative commute options, the more points your office can get.

Other

Sharing best practices
Do you have great ideas on ways for your office to become more sustainable? Sharing these ideas at staff meetings is a great way to increase your impact. It does not have to take a lot of time - even one minute per meeting can spread the sustainability message. Give an update, share new ideas, or announce a reminder to keep sustainability on everyone's radar.

UW Sustainability Pledge
Taking the UW Sustainability Pledge is a way to show personal commitment to sustainability by committing to simple daily actions. Members of your office may not know about the pledge, but with a little communication and some coordination, you can easily earn this point. Consider adding the pledge to your new employee orientation information. Inform your colleagues that if 50% of your office completes the pledge and forwards the confirmation email to you, it will boost your Green Office Certification score.

Climate Action Plan
The UW's Climate Action Plan is an official commitment by the University to becoming carbon neutral. It was submitted to the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2009, and is guided by the Environmental Stewardship Committee.

Green cleaning supplies
Green cleaning supplies lack toxic chemicals or VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which are hazardous to human health as well as the environment. In addition, if the product is manufactured in an eco-friendly process and is biodegradable then it would be considered "green." Look for products with a GreenSeal or EcoLabel Certified and Tested label. UW Custodial Services has won multiple awards (2007 & 2010) for their green cleaning practices. Information on their preferred cleaning products can be found here.*Ask your supplier for a list of eco-friendly cleaning products.

Green Teams
A Green Team is a collaborative group committed to improving the environmental sustainability of their workplace (or any shared space), often involving representatives from various departments. At the UW, Green Teams periodically come together for a Green Bag Lunch organized by the Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability office. Learn about existing Green Teams on campus and find out how to start a Green Team in your office.

Additional Resources

Share your certification
We've provided images of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Green Office logos for you to use in your email signature and other communications to spread the word about your office's certification. Download the .zip file of the images.

UW Sustainability Map
The UW Sustainability Map displays many of the sustainability features on the Seattle campus. Find which buildings are LEED Certified, where the Green Offices are located, which buildings have green roofs or your nearest bike repair station.

Green your office on Pinterest
A collection of ideas and products to help green your office, collected together in a virtual pinboard.

Innovative Ideas

There are so many different ways to be sustainable; it would not be fair to limit this certification program to the ideas thought up by the Green Office Committee. If your office is doing something different from anything listed above, you can get bonus points for that. Here are some ideas that the Committee thought of, and some that were submitted by other offices while applying for certification. For a complete list of submitted innovations, view the certified offices.

Reusing paper with print on only one side through a "One Side Clean" collection box

Patio Display Gardens with native plants or plants that provide food

Having a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program deliver organic produce to the workplace

Why is the Green Office Program Important?

The Climate Action Plan calls for the establishment of a departmental level reporting tool (Strategy 2.3.1) and for the availability of general office guidelines for UW offices (Strategy 7.4.2), both of which the Green Office Certification program supports. In addition to aligning with these strategies, the impact of the program's criteria help reduce carbon emissions and conserve water and energy resources.